“Jesus answered, ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Christ” and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.'”

Wars and rumors of wars. Kingdom rising against kingdom. We are seeing that come to pass, and today thanks to the ambitions of a dictator in North Korea we stand at the brink of yet another war, but one of a far more destructive and dangerous kind. We are closer to nuclear war today than at any time since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. But how should we as believers in Jesus react to this threat? Fear is the natural reaction, certainly. A terrible sadness at the thought of millions losing their lives of course. But what did Jesus say when He was prophesying the events leading up to His return in power and glory? In Luke 21:28 the Savior tells us “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” That is what our response should be…hopeful anticipation. Not hoping for the devastation that will come upon the earth before the end. Not looking forward for the rise of the Beast and the introduction of his mark, and certainly not delighting in the terrible persecutions of believers to come when Satan’s war against the saints kicks into high gear. We already know from Scripture that things are about to get very, very bad here on earth, and if we believers ever needed patient endurance it is now. Yet, at the same time we are to look up and rejoice, for these things all mean that Jesus Christ is about to return in an impossible to miss way and establish His rule over the nations here on earth. It means that our redemption is just around the corner. Jesus’ return and our being raised imperishable (or transformed, not all of us will die before His return) is the great hope Christians have been longing for ever since the day when Christ ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. So do not despair when Kim Jong Un threatens a nuclear attack upon America; a nuclear war will happen at some point. Do not let a godless madman rob you of your joy in the Lord. Be strong and stay true to Jesus, for His return is coming, and much sooner than most people think. These few years of death and destruction will be as nothing compared to an eternity with our Lord, and soon they will be forgotten. He has promised to return and not abandon us, and if God promises it then you can count on it happening. Pray hard and share His Word with as many as possible, for our redemption draws near.